The effects of climate change on the
forests, landscapes, jobs and communities of British Columbia are
increasingly evident across the province, including infestation by
insects such as the pine beetle (which has killed millions of hectares
of Interior pine forest), severe wildfires, drought, flooding, and
other problems. The
pine beetle epidemic alone has resulted in the loss of thousands of
forestry jobs and the closure of dozens of mills, and climate change is
having other negative effects on both the forests and economy.
Responding
to these threats, the provincial government released a "Strategic
Climate Risk Assessment" in July 2019 that identified 15 climate risks,
several of which "have the potential to create catastrophic impacts for
B.C.'s communities."[1]
However, the government's Risk Assessment had one gaping hole.
Despite an abundance of evidence, it did not consider the impact that
clearcutting of forests and other current forest management practices
have on the severity and frequency of at least 9 of the 15 climate
risks identified. To address this gap, the Sierra Club BC commissioned
a
report by forest scientist Dr. Peter Wood titled Intact Forests, Safe
Communities and which has the aim of examining "the role that forest
management can play in either mitigating or exacerbating these risks."[2]
The Sierra Club BC report begins by noting that over the last
century "forests in BC have been logged at an unsustainable rate" and
that, as a result, "only three percent of B.C.'s high-productivity
old-growth forests remain intact." These old-growth forests "create
their own cool, moist microclimate as they age and this helps prevent
forest
fires." High, complex canopies of trees create shade and capture
coastal mist, "allowing the creation of deep moss beds and lush
understory vegetation with rotting biomass," all of which can lower
Spring temperatures in these forests by as much as 2.5 degrees.
In effect, old growth forests act as giant sponges, "readily
absorbing and retaining water, sheltering snow from melting, then
slowly releasing the water over a long period of time." This has
resulted in some temperate rain forests not experiencing forest fires
for several thousand years. Even in the dryer, more forest fire prone
forests of BC's
Interior, microclimates are created which retain moisture longer. A
U.S. study has found that "higher levels of forest protection were
associated with lower fire severity values, even though this was also
associated with higher levels of biomass and fuel loading." Besides
being more fire resistant, older, intact forests are less subject to
drought than
younger forests and, as a result, the ecosystems "contain high levels
of biodiversity, structural complexity, and soil development."
The report argues that clearcut logging destroys the existing
forest microclimate and exposes the forest floor to increased direct
sunlight resulting in more extreme temperatures and the drying out of
woody debris. As much as 40 to 60 per cent of a forest's biomass gets
left behind in the form of slash and even whole trees. Despite
regulation,
this material can often sit on the ground for years. All of this dry
flammable waste seriously exacerbates forest fire risk as does wind
speed which is known to increase after clearcutting.
Second
growth forests also pose a risk as they are more flammable than old
ones and these younger trees are more closely spaced together. To add
to the risk, forest regulations require that, after clearcutting,
forest companies must spray cutblocks with herbicides such as
glyphosate which kill hard wood species like aspen and birch. These
hardwoods are less flammable than softwood species and, if left
standing, can serve as effective forest fire "blocks."[3]
Prior to colonization, Indigenous people frequently used fire
as a tool to reduce forest fire risk and maintain biodiversity, as well
as to grow medicinal and food plants. The report points out that,
although fire regimes can play an important role "in maintaining
ecosystem health for many types of forests," they should happen in
collaboration with
Indigenous decision-makers and benefit from the incorporation of their
traditional knowledge in forest fire management.
Clearcut
logging, especially on steep slopes, also impacts the ability of a
watershed to moderate the flow of water, and can result in severe
erosion, flooding, and landslides. The massive flooding of the
community of Grand Forks in 2018 is a recent example. The degradation
of community water supply is another result of clearcutting, as
happened to the southern Interior town of Peachland. Erosion and
landslides muddied and degraded Peachland's water for months which
previously was provided by natural filtration. As a result, the town
was forced to pay $24 million for a water treatment plant. Under
Canadian law, communities do not have a right to clean water and
"logging
companies aren't legally required to consider downstream impacts such
as flooding when they harvest trees in watersheds." This legal
exemption remains in effect when logging on slopes and near community
watersheds is increasing. In that regard, to see the full extent of
logging across the province go to: the "Seeing Red" maps on the
Conservation North website[4].
Among its recommended actions, the Sierra Club BC report calls
for engagement with Indigenous decision-makers in a
government-to-government process as well as revising all legislation
using the lens of the B.C. Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous
Peoples Act. It also recommends a "cumulative impacts approach" that
takes into account
the impact of forestry operations, as well as mining, agriculture and
other industrial sectors. It calls for the immediate protection of the
small amount of intact old-growth forest still remaining and that
second-growth forests be managed to restore resilience and recover
through selective logging, thinning, brush removal and new silviculture
systems
as alternatives to clearcutting. All of this will "enhance the total
carbon carrying capacity of these forests and their role in fighting
climate change."
Above all, the report recommends
moving away from a timber-centric paradigm and towards a prioritization
of ecosystem health and biodiversity (with timber as one of the many
benefits), and that this prioritization be enshrined in legislation.
In reviewing the report, one thing is clear. We need healthy
forests for there to be secure jobs and stable communities, as well as
realizing the many uses and values of the forest resource. Achieving
these aims is possible but it requires a new direction.
Notes
